Review article
Anxiety and Depression in Men and its Impact on Suicidal Behavior
Ante Silić
Marin Silić
Abstract
Although both depressive disorder and anxiety disorders are associated with suicidality, it is important to distinguish the nature of their interrelationship and determine whether there are sex-specific characteristics. Suicide has a major impact on society as a whole. We know that a diagnosed mental illness is a significant risk factor for suicidal behavior. What is specific to the diagnosis of mental disorders in men, particularly depression, is that depression is diagnosed less frequently in men than in women. Depression is diagnosed in men twice as rarely as in women, while at the same time men die by suicide due to depression three to four times more often than women. It is therefore clear that there is room for improvement in sex-specific diagnostics, which could enable more accurate and earlier diagnosis of mental disorders in men and, consequently, earlier preventive interventions aimed at reducing the rate of suicide attempts. Sixty to seventy percent of men who die by suicide were depressed at the time of death, although many symptoms—such as irritability, anger, and abuse of psychoactive substances—were “masked” or atypical, without the presence of overt sadness. On the other hand, anxiety is clearly associated with suicidal ideation but not with a committed suicide. The risk of suicide in individuals with anxiety increases significantly when it is comorbid with a depressive disorder.
Keywords
suicidality, depression, anxiety, men
Hrčak ID:
345179
URI
Publication date:
26.2.2026.
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